ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL CENTERS IN THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRANSNATIONAL SHI‘A MOVEMENT

The study is devoted to identifying the influence of Shi‘a educational centers located in Iraq and Iran on the formation of transnational Shi‘a movements in the conditions when Iran is faced with accusations of trying to create a “Shi‘a Crescent” or to consolidate Shi‘a communities living across the Middle East. The educational centers play a decisive role in shaping the political outlook of ordinary Shi‘ites, since they fall under the ideological influence of one or another religious authority – marja‘ al-taqlid – mostly in the course of training. Subsequently, upon returning to their homeland, the Shi‘ites actively involved in the political life continue to promote the views instilled in them by their teacher at the educational center. The rivalry for students between the educational centers is natural, as well as the competition of views on the participation of Shi‘a religious leaders in political processes, aggravated by the split between supporters and opponents of “governmental Shi‘ism” in Iran itself. This rivalry determines the lack of unity within the transnational Shi‘ism, which suggests that even if Iran had any ambitions to create a “united Shi‘a front”, they currently have no ideological basis. This conclusion supports the thesis of the “information war” unfolding around the Islamic Republic, aimed at preventing Iran from becoming a regional leader. At the same time, it is fundamentally important that academic research does not follow the lead of the political conjuncture, taking Iran’s activities to create Pax Islamica Shi‘a for granted, and aims to identify Tehran’s real possibilities and limitations in this area. © 2023, Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.